STEERING GROUP OFFER BEST WISHES TO CANVEY ISLAND TRUST
The steering group of the proposed Crawley Town supporters trust have offered their best wishes to the fans of fellow Conference club Canvey Island, who swiftly agreed to form their own trust this week after main backer Jeff King announced he would be withdrawing his support.

The Crawley group have been preparing for their open meeting at the Civic Hall, Crawley, on May 9, for some time and hope that their Canvey counterparts, who voted in favour of forming a trust by a sweeping majority at a hastily-arranged meeting, are able to take action that will enable their club to keep playing at as high a level as possible.

Spokesman for the Crawley steering group, Phil Agius, said: “It was distressing to hear of the plight Canvey fans found themselves in this week and their situation highlights the exposed positions of clubs who are reliant on one main source of income.

“The wage cuts imposed on the Crawley Town staff recently were also attributed to the withdrawal of an investor, and while John Hollins's management team and the remaining players have done a tremendous job in difficult circumstances since, the worrying developments at Canvey show the advantages to be gained from having a trust in place.

“Fortunately at Crawley it seems we are not in the desperate position Canvey are and we hope to be able to build the trust from a position of relative strength.

“Trusts at Conference clubs are flourishing – Exeter's has been a tremendous success story and Aldershot are holding their open meeting to establish a trust this Thursday, for example – and we would urge anyone who has an interest in the future of Crawley Town Football Club to come along to our meeting on May 9 to hear more about how a trust can benefit everyone connected with Crawley Town.”

The handbook of Supporters Direct, the government-backed organisation which has helped to establish more than 100 trusts, explains how trusts can be created at clubs in a variety of financial positions.

It reads: “The most spectacular successes and growth are usually at a club in crisis, where people fear their club could become extinct. However, plenty of clubs aren't in dire crisis, or even in any crisis at all at the moment. The crisis is the ‘future' - who knows what tomorrow might bring?

“Football is an eventful sport, and clubs rarely have a period of settled calm where nothing serious happens to them. At these types of clubs, the trust is an insurance policy against that day, should it ever come.

“If owners change, it's there to remind the new people that the fans love and care for the club and their interests need to be protected and their voice listened to. They're also there to be a vehicle to save the club should things go badly wrong, though of course no-one ever wants to see that happening.”

Fans wishing to learn more about the proposed Crawley trust, provisionally titled The Devils Trust, are invited to visit their website at www.thedevilstrust.org.uk or email thedevilstrust@aol.com